- Daniel Lopez-Santiago pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 2023 Kearns shooting.
- He shot Vincente Peralta-Figueroa during a financial dispute on Sept. 3, 2023.
- Lopez-Santiago will be sentenced on Nov. 17 after pleading guilty to reduced charges.
KEARNS — A man who shot and killed a 25-year-old during a financial dispute in 2023 in Kearns pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter.
Daniel Lopez-Santiago, 21, was charged in November 2023 in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; and obstruction of justice and possession of a gun by a restricted person, second-degree felonies.
On Friday, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, second-degree felonies.
On Sept. 3, 2023, Unified police arrived at 4057 W. 4990 South and discovered that Vincente Peralta-Figueroa, 25, had been shot and killed in a detached garage on the property.
According to charging documents, Lopez-Santiago and Peralta-Figueroa started arguing on the night of the shooting about money owed. Lopez-Santiago confronted the victim about the money in the detached garage of Peralta-Figueroa's residence. After being gone for a while, Elmer Areiga Hernandez, who also lived in the home, went to go check on them.
"He saw Vicente and Lopez-Santiago arguing loudly. Elmer then saw Lopez-Santiago shoot Vicente once with a handgun. While still holding the handgun, Lopez-Santiago ran toward (Areiga) and demanded he take him home or else," the charges state.
After the shooting, investigators say Lopez-Santiago sold his gun to a neighbor.
When investigators attempted to question Areiga, he "changed his story multiple times," according to charging documents, and "has actively tried to impede the investigation." He was charged with obstruction of justice but was found not guilty by a jury in October 2024. He was kept in custody as a material witness for Lopez-Santiago's case, according to court documents.
In a plea statement filed Friday, Lopez-Santiago said he "used a firearm recklessly causing the death of Vicente Peralta-Figueroa and was at that time a Category 1 restricted person."
Prosecutors says Lopez-Santiago is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, and is in the United State illegally. Lopez-Santiago will be sentenced on Nov. 17.
